Definition of Giclee:

 

A giclée (gee-CLAY) is the art produced from an image of the original piece of art using the process of reproduction from digital scans of the original art  transfered to high-resolution special large format printers. The better the equipment used will produce a giclee that may look almost identical to the original piece of art.

 

Giclee printing is extremely versatile which allows printing on any number of media, from canvas to watercolor paper to transparent acetates. Giclees are superior to traditional lithography in several ways. The colors are brighter, last longer, and are so high-resolution that they are virtually continuous tone, rather than tiny dots. The range of color for giclees is far beyond that of lithography, and details are crisper.

Giclees use a form of inkjet technology which are far more sophisticated than your desktop inkjet printer. The colors cover the gamut, which is a complete subset of colors. The process employs six colors--light cyan, cyan, light magenta, magenta, yellow and black--of lightfast, pigmented inks and finer, more numerous, and replaceable printheads resulting in a wider color gamut, and the ability to use various media to print on. The ink is sprayed onto the canvas or paper, actually mixing the color to create true shades and hues.

 

Since the ink is absorbed into the canvas or paper giving a one-dimensional appearance, an artist may go back and "hand-enhance" the art by adding paint to the canvas or paper.